Comets prevail in OT for third consecutive win

UTICA – The Comets had not won a game when trailing after two periods this season.

Reid Boucher changed that Wednesday night — and helped the Comets get back to .500.

Boucher’s snipe from the right circle found its way past Linus Ullmark's blocker 1:29 into overtime on a delayed penalty as the Comets earned a 2-1 victory over the Rochester Americans before another announced capacity crowd of 3,917 at Adirondack Bank Center at Utica Memorial Auditorium.

“I kind of tried to use the (defenseman) as a screen there and get a good shot on net. It just went in for me,” said Boucher, who has two goals and two assists during a four-game point-streak.

It was the third consecutive meeting that needed more than 60 minutes to decide a winner between the North Division rivals, and it was the first time in eight games this season that the Comets rallied for a win when trailing after two periods.

“It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure. … It was great resilience to kind of stay in the game,” said Comets coach Trent Cull, whose team finished 5-6-0-1 in November. “It is a great feeling to be able to come from behind. That kind of restores some confidence in the team.”

Boucher’s team-leading ninth goal — he had a similar tally to tie Saturday’s game against Laval — gave the Comets (9-9-0-1, 19 points) a three-game winning streak, matching their best stretch of the season. It also improved Utica's home-ice record to 3-5-0-1.

“Everybody is playing a more consistent game with the way we want to play,” said Boucher, who also credited the play of his linemates Michael Chaput and rookie Zack MacEwen. “Any time you can beat a team in your division it is nice. We’re trying to climb back up the standings here. Every win counts.”

The Comets are home again at 7 p.m. Friday to begin a home-and-home series with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Jayson Megna had the tying goal with a shorthanded tally in a fast-paced third period and Cam Darcy added two assists in support of goalie Thatcher Demko — starting for the sixth time in seven games — made 29 saves and improved his record to 7-5-1.

“We know that we can be a tough team to play against,” Cull said. “Tonight, we capitalized on some chances. We’re not very flashy. We’re kind of just a grinding team. But, I think it works for us.”

Ullmark finished with 31 saves for Rochester (11-5-3-1, 26 points), which had won back-to-back games and is now 7-1-3-1 in the last 12.

Demko and Ullmark were solid in a scoreless, back-and-forth first period. It was the second penalty-free first period the Comets have played in as many games.

Utica had one of its best chances early in the game on a 2-on-1 when Boucher sent a spinning backhand pass to MacEwen, who was denied on a glove save by Ullmark with about 16 minutes remaining.

The Amerks broke through less than five minutes into the second period for a 1-0 lead. Rochester got on the board when a streaking Garrett Ross scored backdoor past a sprawling Demko after a quick cross-ice feed from Connor Allen.

The Comets had good pressure in the second half of the period. In the span of a few minutes, Cole Cassels couldn’t convert a rebound from in close, Megna had a good scoring chance go wide after a nice curl and drag move in front and Carter Bancks was denied from the slot.

The Amerks’ lead held until about seven minutes into the third on a nice play from Darcy, Patrick Wiercioch and Megna. As the Comets killed their fourth penalty of the game, Darcy chased down a long pass in Rochester’s corner and found an unchecked Wiercioch on the left side of the crease. The veteran defenseman quickly got the puck to Megna, who tapped in his third goal of the season. The Comets finished 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and have stopped 14 consecutive power plays.

“We had a lot of chances,” Boucher said. “We played a good, hard game in the offensive zone. Our main focus was just sticking with the way we were playing there. We got a big one with the (shorthanded goal) there.”

Demko and Ullmark each traded key stops in the last half of the period — the final five minutes of regulation were especially intense — to force extra time.

Notes: There is a Christmas tree lighting planned before Friday's game, with the lights set to be turned on at 5 p.m. The team said there will be milk and cookies, carolers and an appearance by Santa Claus. ... Ashton Sautner returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing four games with an upper-body injury. … Evan McEneny, Yan-Pavel Laplante, Brendan Woods, Darren Archibald, Jaime Sifers and Wacey Hamilton each missed the game with injuries.